Words by Paul Colston
New venue Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall) is a waterside wave of a venue opening in January and stands in homage to Hamburg’s famous harbour and symbol also of a MICE renaissance in the northern German city. Elbphilharmonie offers a variety of spaces for congresses, small meetings and receptions. There’s also a Westin Hotel on site for fine dining, accommodation and meetings.
The ‘Elbphi’ is part of HafenCity, the largest development project in Europe. It is a model of urban, sustainable and innovative city development and the harbourside area is also home to businesses such as Unilever’s German HQ and a new cruise centre, as well as restaurants and hotels.
The main congress jewel in the city’s venue crown is CCH – Congress Center Hamburg, currently being redeveloped to become one of Europe’s largest convention centres when it reopens in 2019. It will have 12,000 seats in its 50 halls. The entrance hall, rising as tall as the main building, will provide an additional multi-purpose space.
With views over Alster Lake, the Fontenay five-star hotel opens at the start of 2017. Delegates using the venue’s four meeting rooms will be able to access the hotel’s private park.
Hamburg is the third largest civil aviation location in the world, and hosts many global conferences from that sector (including the recent International Air Transport Association). Airbus has a factory in the area, and delegates can get a glimpse of the manufacturing process.
Hamburg’s Port also provides behind the scenes tours that can impart strong impressions from its 815-year history.
Experts in the maritime, aerospace and logistics industries can all serve as speakers and guides for custom tours.
Another port of call for planners is the Hamburg Convention Bureau, a one-stop shop for meeting planners.
G20 2017
Hamburg’s ‘cosmopolitanism’ makes it the perfect host city for G20 according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Chancellor had announced that Germany’s second city was to host the G20 summit on 7-8 July 2017, stating: “I believe that this is well suited to Hamburg’s cosmopolitanism.”
Hamburg Messe will welcome G20 members from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union.
“Hamburg connects people by tradition. We offer professional networks and a world class meeting infrastructure to ensure top standards of quality and safety,” added Thorsten Kausch, managing director of the Hamburg Convention Bureau (HCB).
Alongside the heads of state and governments from the most important industrialised countries and emerging economies, the city will also accommodate participants from other international organisations as well as thousands of media representatives.
Ahead of the G20 summit, Hamburg is also set to host, on 8-9 December this year, 57 foreign ministers for the annual Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
A fifth of overnight stays in the city are now attributable to meetings, incentives, conventions and events.
